Public Land North of Granger along DSM River

[SCOFFIN]

I have to stop reading the harvest reports as I'm starting to get discouraged. Sounds like things are getting easier and I have yet to experience it. I've spent 3 full days in my stand up in the public timber north of Granger along the DSM river and have yet to see a deer walk within site of my stand. In scouting stand positions, I see lots of trails, a couple rubs/scrapes, and a ton of deer tracks. I seen a couple bucks chasing does when I left for lunch one day, but that was about 500 yards from my stand. I need some help with this area, I'm getting really discouraged. This is a large timber area with several maintenance roads and some corn/soybean/alfalfa fields mixed in. My first spot was looking over an unpicked bean field at the intersection of one of the roads. Next spot was 20 yards off a deer highway overlooking a fresh rub. Next spot (today) was timber along several hills and valleys running into a corn field on each side. Corn was still standing. None of these spots showed 1 single deer. I feel I'm doing things right. I have my doe scents out, my buck decoy, grunt tube and rattle bag. I don't over do either call (Maybe that is my problem). I realize it's public land, but it's all I really have to hunt in this part of the state. It's big timber with a river, so there should be some deer running around. I know they are there somewhere. Here is a link to the spot. I'm hunting the timber on the south bank of the river on the west side of HWY 17. If anybody can lend a tip or two, I'd greatly appreciate it.

http://cairo.gis.iastate.edu/cgi-bin/old/client.cgi?zoom=2&x0=431919&y0=4628287&action=pan&pwidth=550&pheight=550&x=325&y=313

The field in this view has a path about a foot deep coming in from the east side of the field. The next field over to the West is the field I hunted overlooking the beans and the road. The next field to the West that looks like a puzzle piece is still all corn and the timbered finger going in from the East is what I hunted today. As you can see there is a lot more timber to the North and West that I'm going to explore and have seen some deer movement in when I drive by at night. If anybody has some suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it. I am acquiring great amount of respect for anybody who gets any kind of deer to walk near their stands and to shoot one, oh man!!

 

[Liv4Rut]

If I were you, I would park on the south side of the river, east side of the road in the first parking lot, I would slip down into the bottom and walk probably 3-400 yards and watch the high bank to your right, you should be walking along where saylorville starts if im looking at the same aerials. Just keep watching until there is a big grassy valley in between 2 ridges, you cant miss it, I would walk up into there and get up on the ridge somewhere, goose hunting there earlier this year i saw a few 140-150 class bucks, might be worth a shot, if you arent seeing them at the other spot, assuming its the same area. At night they always came off the ridge from your right, while looking at it, and went to the grass inbetween the ridges and dinked around, might be smoking

 

[IaCraig]

Scoffin, I do not know how to give a short reply to this so here is my book.

I believe the keys are scouting the area, mobility, playing the wind & putting in time.
I've considered the area you are in and years ago I've spring turkey hunted it, but I've never actually bow hunted it so I do not know it well. However for the last 10 years I’ve almost exclusively bow hunted public land within 1-2 miles of you, and I’ve been reasonably successful.
Here is what I would do this time of year:
I would give up the field edges and setup in the timber and try to stay there until noon or later. Standing corn may be an exception to this, but I’d still setup 20 – 40 yards into the timber. Does are looking for beds in cover and bucks are walking the timber looking for the does. When the wind is from the south or west I’d find a ridge on the North end. This keeps your scent out of the timber and deer often travel the downwind ridges so they can smell into the timber and look into the open valley. If the wind switches and comes from the north or east, I would hunt closer to the south edge of the timber. In both cases I would look for funnels to setup, like a point where the land gradually slopes into a valley, and I’d setup within 30 yards to the downwind edge so a deer is most likely to walk upwind of you or provide a shot. (I’d hunt the top of the slope, not the valley where the wind swirls). Also I’d use a portable climber stand so you can move and re-setup quickly. And lastly and maybe most important, come from downwind even if you have to walk twice as far.
Earlier in the year I hunt only dawn and dusk and focus on feeding or bedding areas, but during the rut I try to be on stand as much as possible because bucks are roaming mid-day and keep the does moving from 1 bed to another. For example last Saturday I sat all day and I had 6 deer within 25 yards, 3 were bucks and 1 was shooter. 5 of these deer came by between 10:00 am and noon and the 3rd buck came roaming past around at 3:15 pm. I’ve hunted this area most the fall and I believe all 3 of these bucks were new ones I never saw before. Sure there is some hunting pressure, but sometimes they help move deer too. Saturday I saw 2 other hunters, one came within about 70 yards of me as he was jump shooting ducks in the creek, and the other was a bow hunter still hunting a ridge a further away.

Good Luck
IaCraig